Why do I have a podcast?
I have a podcast.
It’s not a unique sentence at all. There are close to 5 million podcasts out there, and 464 million podcast listeners worldwide tune into them daily. So why add one more to the frenzy?
It’s because there are stories and conversations to be had.
When we envisaged this podcast initially, we were looking at a medium to uncover stories of people managers in the trenches, bring out lived experiences, and offer support through insightful conversations with subject matter experts and practitioners. With 14 episodes out and a few more in development, we have found three unique areas to explore.
#1 Supporting people managers with coaches
These conversations help us gain insights into critical topics for people managers, like constructive feedback or conflict management. Since there is already a lot of know-how on those topics, what’s different about ours?
We are trying to get input from people who have been there for a while. For instance, our episode on HR trends for 2024 featured David Bernstein, who brings over two decades of professional experience in the HR tech industry.
#2 Making people managers feel heard and seen
A lot of podcast content offers straight-up, actionable tips with promises of success and an inadvertent sales pitch. They are great, but not what people managers need when reflecting and thinking. There’s a gap out there.
Between the top three podcasts of the US being the likes of The Joe Rogan Show, Crime Junkie, and The Daily, we need some authentic conversations situated in the workplaces too.
That’s why the second set of interesting episodes comes up, such as the one featuring Jaidev Murti, a managing director (and coach) at Accenture! In a discussion, he speaks of his experience managing and training managers over decades.
#3 Offering support to the supporters
Think HR and your first ideas will likely be about payrolls and recruitment. Human resources function is wider, including critical yet backstage areas like learning and development, which bring out true potential and enable organizational success in many unacknowledged ways.
Unsurprisingly, these roles come with challenges that need attention, and who’s better to provide them than the practitioners themselves?
It happens over conversations like the one we had recently with Janis Cooper, the Director of Leadership and Staff Development at Best Friends of Animal Society. She talked about building great learning experiences, unique programs like equine-facilitated learning, and proving ROI for L&D initiatives.
You can find RiseUp Radio here. Share your ideas and reflections in the comments and we will get back to you with improvements and adaptations.
So, to sum up, I have a podcast for people leaders and those who sustain them. Do watch and support!
